Broadband to Go
We sent notebook-toting roving reporters out to see if new services deliver on their promises of superfast data access.Christopher Null is a freelance writer based in San Francisco.
Illustration by Randy Lyhus
We thought not. Fortunately, fast, so-called third-generation (3G) wireless data services--paced by Verizon Wireless's EvDO BroadbandAccess service--have moved out of the testing phase and into the mainstream, to the point where today broadband wireless can just about work as your primary means of accessing the Internet when you're on the road. Some kinks still need to be worked out, and you might not be able to use these services as freely as their wired counterparts; but by and large, our informal survey found that wireless broadband wide-area networks (WANs) are ready for prime time.
Toward True 3G
For a long time, cellular networks in the United States have been saddled with old technology, and early attempts to offer high-speed data services left consumers more confused than connected. So-called 2.5G standards--which didn't quite reach anticipated 3G network speeds (for 3G, 300 kilobits per second is widely considered a rough lower bar)--were ultimately disappointing. Frustrated users of 1xRTT (the 2.5G technology deployed by CDMA carriers Sprint and Verizon) or EDGE (the slightly faster 2.5G technology adopted on the Cingular/AT&T side) regularly received harsh reminders of their service's similarity to analog dial-up: None of these services could manage speeds much higher than 60 kbps or so in the real world.
Enter 3G. With eyes on wireless data speeds that can match those of DSL, a revolution is finally under way. Two main 3G technologies are currently rolling out in the United States. The first--and more widely deployed--is EvDO (Evolution Data Only, or Evolution Data Optimized). An update to the CDMA radio technology used by Sprint and Verizon in the United States, EvDO provides very high data throughput, with a theoretical maximum speed of about 2 megabits per second.
Even so, the GSM-based networks (run by Cingular and T-Mobile), although trailing, aren't out of the game. The 3G version of GSM, called HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), is newer than EvDO and is being launched just now by Cingular. We were able to do only some last-minute tests in San Francisco (see "HSDPA vs. EvDO: Cingular Starts Its Own Broadband Service"). HSDPA speeds theoretically can reach 3 mbps and faster--so fast that some people call HSDPA a "3.5G" service. T-Mobile won't launch HSDPA here until 2007.
Living With 3G
In 2004, Verizon Wireless began testing its EvDO service under the BroadbandAccess moniker (for our first look, see "Cellular Nets Reach DSL Speed"), and in late 2005 it rolled the service out nationally. Sprint's EvDO offering, called Mobile Broadband, reaches various cities across the country, but coverage remains spotty. Both providers plan to expand the network over the next few years.
Each company charges its wireless-voice customers $60 per month for unlimited access to these services ($80 for data-only customers). But a provider's definition of "unlimited" may not match yours: Both Sprint and Verizon impose restrictions that we'll discuss later on.
Verizon VZAccess PC Card for 3G.
So what is 3G service like in the real world? To find out, we shipped a Verizon Wireless VZAccess PC Card for laptops to testers in six metropolitan areas where BroadbandAccess coverage is available: Atlanta; Boston; Portland, Oregon; St. Louis; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. We also circulated among the testers a Lenovo ThinkPad Z60, one of the few laptop models carrying an internal version of the VZAccess card, to see if the built-in adapter worked better than a PC Card.
Each tester used BroadbandAccess for a series of tasks ranging from performing simple ping tests and viewing identical Web pages to watching streaming video and playing Internet radio. Each tester conducted the tests at various locations: at home; inside a large hotel conference center; in a moving vehicle; outdoors; in a café with Wi-Fi service; and at the periphery of the service area (to get a map of coverage near you, fill out Verizon's form).
Bear in mind that, due to the vagaries of location and network congestion, our results are not repeatable and should be considered as anecdotal evidence only. Your mileage may vary--wildly, in fact--depending on any number of factors, a few of which are outlined below.
Getting Started With EvDO
Setting up Verizon's VZAccess PC Card is a snap. After installing a small application from a CD-ROM and sliding in the card, you gain access to the network via a quick activation process. Assuming that you're setting up where you have a decent EvDO signal, you should be up and running in less than 5 minutes.
The VZAccess Manager software isn't entirely intuitive, but you'll probably have no need to use it except to double-click the program icon and to click Connect to hop on the network. Logging on never took us more than 10 seconds--faster by far than connecting to any Wi-Fi network. We were then able to use our notebooks as if they were connected via Wi-Fi or wires.
But one of the first things our testers noticed was that network speeds varied dramatically. When we were able to sustain downloads, speeds typically ranged from 300 to 500 kbps--but in some cases they soared to 2.5 mbps, and in others we weren't able to connect at all. Some Web pages loaded in seconds in one location, while in another we had to wait for up to 3 minutes. Move a few feet closer to an exterior wall, though, and you could be back to a blazing connection. This is fine if you're bumming around the house, but it's a different story if you're stuck in a location where you can't easily move a few feet in hopes of snagging a better signal.
Fast, But Less Reliable
When reception was good, we generally had positive experiences with streaming audio and video, and Voice-over-IP audio came through just fine. But when the signal was weak or we had interference issues, video would drop out altogether, and VoIP calls became garbled or incoherent. A better bet was instant messaging, which never felt any different than it did at home or at the office.
We also tried out the service in moving cars and trains. According to Verizon, speeds are supposed to be much slower when you're in motion, but as long as we were within the service area and receiving a strong signal, we didn't notice any degradation in the quality of service.
At the border of a service area, however, the signal became unusable for anything but e-mail and Web browsing. That's because outside the EvDO coverage area, you use the slower, older 1xRTT network, whose speeds of about 70 kbps are barely faster than dial-up.
Within the stated coverage area, we rarely saw a signal drop, but we did experience odd stalls, even when the VZAccess application's signal-strength indicator displayed all four bars. A Verizon spokesperson noted that any number of momentary glitches could interfere with a signal: "Don't let that 'bar' commercial fool you. You can have four bars and still drop a call." We also saw strange color banding around GIF images, which rendered pictures unsightly. Verizon was unable to explain this phenomenon, but we speculate that it might be a relic of a compression scheme in the connection software.
So the service basically works, albeit unevenly. But there's a catch with both Verizon's BroadbandAccess and Cingular's BroadbandConnect, and it's a biggie that the rosy-sounding ads don't warn you about. Turns out, most of our tests were in violation of both companies' terms of service, which strictly mandate what you can and cannot do on their networks. Verizon explicitly allows only Web browsing, sending and receiving e-mail, and "access to a corporate intranet or specialized application" on its EvDO network. Cingular's terms of service are similarly worded; Sprint has yet to formulate contract language for its fledgling 3G service.
And that's all you can do. Relegated to the strictly prohibited list are:
Clearly, the ban on VoIP reflects Verizon's (and other carriers') concerns about the technology's threat to the voice-call business--after all, if you're paying for unlimited data service and can use Skype, why pay for a voice plan too? But depending on how the company interprets the terms, Verizon could prohibit just about any online activity, from visiting Windows Update to checking a real-time stock ticker. The question is, will it?
Evidently, neither Verizon nor Cingular strictly enforce the restrictions at this point: We broke all of the rules over the course of our testing and never heard a peep about it. Both companies said that the rules are in place only to dissuade people who would use the service for commercial purposes (to run a Web server, for example). Representatives assured us that most users wouldn't have to worry about getting kicked off the network for downloading a song or ten. "The legal clause...is there solely for abusers," Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney told us.
Restrictions aside, we generally liked EvDO's performance. Though it can't replace wired broadband, it marries the convenience of instant-on access to a pretty fast Internet experience. After using the service exclusively for a few days, we found that we couldn't live without it.
What About Wi-Fi?
Are you wondering why T-Mobile isn't jumping on the 3G bandwagon more quickly? With its investment in more than 23,000 T-Mobile hotspots, the company is betting that, when it comes to accessing the Internet while on the road, you would prefer Wi-Fi to WAN. And all things being equal, you probably would, as Wi-Fi is generally faster (depending on the wired line that a hotspot connects to, speeds may range from 800 kbps for DSL to 6 mbps for a high-end cable modem) and more reliable. But Wi-Fi is a local-area network technology: It isn't available universally, and its range of a few hundred feet means that you'll face enormous gaps in coverage no matter where you are.
Still, for some users a T-Mobile Wi-Fi subscription might make more sense than 3G. It's much cheaper: $30 a month for unlimited access with a 12-month contract (versus Verizon's steeper charge of $70 monthly for a two-year contract).
Also, T-Mobile offers hotspots in over 20 countries, a plus for international travelers. EvDO, of course, won't work outside the United States. And apart from standard terms against illegal use, computer hacking, and the like, T-Mobile doesn't limit how you can use the service.
And don't forget that, if your notebook came equipped with integrated Wi-Fi or you already have a notebook adapter on hand, there's no extra hardware to buy.
Overall, if you have convenient access to hotspots and can put up with gaps in service in between them, we'd advise sticking with Wi-Fi for the time being. But if you are constantly on the move in areas covered by EvDO, can justify the admittedly pricey service as a business expense, or hate paying to sit in a café just so you can check e-mail, EvDO makes an appealing alternative today.
EvDO still has a lot of hype to live up to, but Verizon's implementation comes close to matching its promises. BroadbandAccess is fast and convenient, and it provides a remarkably better experience than previous mobile networking options.
That 'Other' Wireless: What Happened to My WiMax?
So where is WiMax, the long-awaited technology that has promised hefty 70-mbps maximum download speeds anywhere within a range of up to 25 miles?
It's coming, says Mo Shakouri, the WiMax Forum's vice president of marketing. With 350 member companies, the group is now working on hardware interoperability and making sure that carriers have infrastructure ready. While 2006 deployments will likely be limited to Europe, testing should be complete by the time you read this, and consumers across the pond should be able to install fixed WiMax routers (priced at $300 or less) by the middle of the year.
As for mobile WiMax--with chips integrated into phones, PDAs, and PC Cards--prototypes exist in South Korea, where the mobile technology is likely to be launched by the end of 2006. The rest of us may see the technology in late 2007, but Shakouri admits that 2008 is more realistic.
3G Laptops: Wireless Broadband, Without Extra Hardware
Lenovo's ThinkPad Z60 laptop is one of the first available with an EvDO radio built in (the antenna peeks out of the right edge of the screen panel).
As happened with Wi-Fi, equipment manufacturers are starting to jump on the WAN bandwagon by integrating EvDO or HSDPA radios into their latest equipment. This year will see a flood of notebooks arriving with built-in WAN hardware.
The big benefit: As with an integrated Wi-Fi adapter, integrated wireless WAN capability means no bulky, fragile PC Card to carry around. There's also no enormous antenna jutting out of the side of your notebook, possibly preventing it from fitting in your laptop bag. On the Lenovo ThinkPad Z60, which we tested for this story, the integrated Verizon EvDO's WAN antenna is a barely noticeable sliver attached to the right side of the lid.
In daily use, working with the integrated EvDO adapter is functionally identical to using the PC Card version. Even the connection software is unchanged.
But while we enjoyed not having to haul extra hardware around, integrated WAN presents a number of risks. Primarily, you're stuck with it for the long haul, since you can't swap the wireless hardware into a new laptop, and you can't switch carriers if the service isn't what you expected. Ditto if faster 4G technology arrives earlier than anticipated; you could be forced to upgrade early.
On the other hand, 3G networks may outlive your laptop, anyway. If you're sold on the technology and don't mind sticking with one data service provider for the next two to three years, having the convenience and durability of integrated WAN hardware is definitely worth serious consideration. Just make sure that you try out (and are satisfied with) the exact hardware you're pondering--before you dive in headfirst.
Anecdotal Tests: EvDO Delivers, Most of the Time
On Verizon's BroadbandAccess service, testers' experiences varied widely. Several of the tests we performed are expressly forbidden under Verizon's terms of service.
Footnotes: 1. According to Verizon's terms of service for BroadbandAccess. 2. Activity not explicitly disallowed.
How We Test: We asked testers in six metropolitan areas across the United States to perform seven tasks using a laptop equipped with a built-in EvDO adapter and/or a PC Card at various locations around (and outside) their city. For full details about the tests we performed, and for extended test results, click here.
HSDPA vs. EvDO: Cingular Starts Its Own Broadband Service
Cingular's 3G antenna is longer than Verizon's.
Cingular may be something of a late arrival to the wireless broadband party, but there's nothing laggardly about the performance of its new High Speed Downlink Packet Access network.
We received Sierra Wireless's AirCard 860 for Cingular's new BroadbandConnect service after all our EvDO testing was complete, so we were able to try it out in only one city, San Francisco. There, on the whole, we experienced excellent results: Web browsing was noticeably more responsive and downloads were faster than on Verizon's network. In fact, data speeds ran about 1 mbps--faster than the 400 to 700 kbps speeds that Cingular touts.
The improvement was especially noticeable in areas where EvDO signals were weaker. At locations where streaming video was unwatchable and Skype phone calls were unintelligible over Verizon's BroadbandAccess service, we were able to receive uninterrupted video and carry on extended, crystal-clear VoIP calls on Cingular's network. "Can you hear me now?" Indeed.
But we did encounter a few problems. First, the design of the hardware is dated and problematic: The AirCard 860 has a slender, jointed antenna that extends 3.5 inches vertically. While a longer antenna is normally preferable, this one is flimsy, and may interfere with typing if your laptop's PC Card slot is positioned near the front. And when you remove the card, there's no good way to pack it to ensure the delicate antenna won't break off.
A bigger concern was with the BroadbandConnect software. In our tests, the lengthy installation conflicted with Google Desktop Search (a problem Cingular says it has been unable to reproduce), and the software attempted to take over management of our existing Wi-Fi setup. Because the BroadbandConnect card is a six-band, dual-mode product, it can take up to 2 minutes to optimize its settings when you initiate a connection in a new location.
Fix the archaic antenna and streamline the software, however, and we'd pronounce HSDPA the winner in the current 3G race.